


A Familiar Detail

by Freedom_Shamrock



Series: MiraculousFluffMonth 2017 [18]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Magic, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Mutual Pining, Shapeshifting, Witches
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-17
Updated: 2017-08-17
Packaged: 2018-12-16 12:18:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11828607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Freedom_Shamrock/pseuds/Freedom_Shamrock
Summary: A fluffy one-shot six months after Something Familiar





	A Familiar Detail

**Author's Note:**

> Miraculous Fluff month's Aug 17 prompt, AU. This is a direct sequel to Something Familiar (from Marichat May), and probably does not stand on its own.

School was on spring break and Marinette was finally recovering from a rough bout of influenza.  Now that she was well enough to do some sewing, her first project was an outfit for Chat, who'd just had another growth spurt.  His new life and diet were agreeing with him pretty spectacularly, and he'd started picking up more mature modeling jobs at Gabriel's request.

He'd paged through her designs and picked a shirt and pants.  It took a little time to map out the pattern, size it for him, and take him to pick out a fabric.  She had the cut pieces spread out over her floor, her pincushion strapped to her left hand.  She knelt over the organized mayhem and chatted with her familiar.  He watched, in cat form, from the high platform of his tower.

"I may not be able to finish it today, but you should be able to wear it tomorrow," she explained as she lay one piece over another and ran a line of pins down the edge.  He was well accustomed to the process by now, having spent the last six months with her, but she had made a commitment to appreciate him, and letting him know what she was doing was part of that.  It had become routine at this point, and comfortable for both of them.

_ It's so nice of you to do this. _  His voice in her head was soothing, though she could feel his excitement.   _ I love wearing things you made  _ **_just for me_ ** _. _

She glanced over her shoulder at him, smiling happily.  "I've told you, I'll try to make you anything you want me to.  You choose your style now, Kitty."

He sprang to her desk, then hopped lightly down next to her, careful to avoid the fabric.  He strode up her bent legs to her thighs and pushed his head vigorously against her chin in gratitude.

She slipped her pin-free hand around his lithe body and cuddled him a moment.  "We take care of each other now."  At her mother's suggestion, she'd done some reading, and was trying to make sure their relationship stayed balanced and equal.  She may have rescued him from a terrible situation, but she wasn't in charge of them.  He'd been seeing a counselor since before he started school, and occasionally sat in on those so they could address ways to be healthy with each other.  They would have to decide together where they were going to university and where to live, but so far all the smaller decisions had been pretty easy.  It was probably too much to hope that they'd never have a serious disagreement.  

When he stopped rubbing against her, he met her eyes and leaned in toward her face.  His nose was cool against her cheek and his long black whiskers tickled her skin.  He stretched a little to reach her nose.  Kitten kisses.  That's what her mother called these.  It was a cat's way of showing affection, and Chat was extremely affectionate.  She giggled at the touch of his nose against hers.  He did it sometimes when he was a boy, too, especially when he needed cuddles but didn't know how to ask other than in cat.  Those probably didn't count as kitten kisses, maybe they were boy kisses.  She froze as his nose touched her lips.

No.  Definitely not boy kisses.  Boy kisses were something else entirely.  He  **was** a boy as much as he was a cat.  They were kitten kisses in boy form.  It was normal… for them.  It didn't mean anything that a crazy handsome, super sweet boy spent quality time nuzzling her.  

That didn't help.

It also didn't help when she only just realized that while they'd rearranged her room, putting a twin bed for him under her loft, he slept with her most nights, and he was a cat only half of those times.  He was her familiar; this shouldn't even be an issue.  He was recovering from years of abuse.  He was still figuring out who he was.  There was no way he was ready to be confronted with this mess.

She wasn't aware of the passage of time, or how long she'd sat there, frozen.  She didn't notice the flash of green.  But she couldn't help but notice the two warm hands cupping her face.  "My Marinette," he said gently.  "You're freaking out."

She closed her eyes, not sure she could handle his human form so close just now.

"Open your eyes," he coaxed.  "Open your eyes and breathe, nice and slow with me."  It was like when he soothed her after a nightmare, his thumbs lightly brushing her cheeks.

She focused on the green of his eyes.  In an effort to pull her brain off that other topic that was not appropriate to think about at this time.  Green.  Green.  Green.

His smile was sweet.  "Yes, my eyes are green."

She blinked several times and he leaned back, out of her space.

"Are you okay?"

She nodded.

Now he looked confused.  "Should we talk about it?  Because anything that does that to you… I should probably know about it."

She groaned and moved away from her pattern to flop on the floor.  "You're right," she admitted.  "But I don't want to."

"Oh," he said quietly.  "Is it me?  Did I do something…"

She sat up and grabbed his hand.  "Ugh, no.  It's not you.  Or… well, it is , but not in the way you're thinking."  She let go of him and returned to her spot on the rug.  "Ooooh.  This is so embarrassing," she whined.

He laughed.  "Well if you're worried about embarrassing things, I have a whole list of things I can share to make it even."

"Really?"  She turned and looked at him, surprised to see pink in his cheeks.

"Oh my god yes," he said, lying down next to her.  "Uhm.  Sometimes I switch to cat form because it's socially acceptable for me to crawl into your lap for cuddles that way."  He hesitated a moment.  "Especially at school.  Oh, and I go cat when I'm happy so I can rub against you and knead on you."

Neither of these were a surprise, but they also hadn't been things she'd consciously considered.  Giggles erupted out of her before she could stop them.  

He covered his face with both hands.  "Noooo.  You can't laugh.  I'll die of shame."  He peeked at her from between his fingers when that only made her giggle more.  "Or not.  See.  You can share.  It's only awkward for a minute."  Without looking, he reached over and hooked her pinkie finger with his.  "Nino says the whole point of being a teenager is that we all have the opportunity to be awkward and we learn how to survive embarrassment."

"Ugh.  No fair, Kitty."  Was she freaking out over nothing?  Would this damage their relationship?  Sudden clarity forced her to see this could hurt what they had if she tried to keep it to herself.  She'd just gone into a full panic less than thirty seconds after recognizing what she'd noticed and felt.

"You don't have to tell me."  He squeezed her fingers.  "And if you need time, I can wait."

She shook her head, though he was still focused on her ceiling.  "No.  I think… I need to tell you, because then you'll know why I'm being weird… if I get weird about it."  She sighed.  "I don't want you to feel pressured to feel or act in a certain way about this."  She closed her eyes tightly, as if that would ward off unpleasantness.  "I've always thought you were kind and sweet, and beautiful.  Even when I thought you were just a cat.  And I just… very suddenly realized I want to kiss you."  Was that clear enough?  She needed to be sure, and she'd kissed him in cat form often enough that it might not be.  "Boy you, that is.  And, ah, the way Alya kisses Nino."

_ You want to kiss  _ **_me_ ** _?  _  His telepathic voice was quiet and surprised.

_ I'm so sorry for making you uncomfortable _ .  She tried to roll to her side, away from him, but his grip on her hand pinned her down.   _ You're my familiar.  I'm not supposed to feel like this about you. _

"I'm not  **just** a cat, though," he pointed out.  "Which would be weird, wrong."  She heard him move, but didn't register that he'd come closer until his nose nuzzled the side of her face.  "Is there a rule or witch law about this?"

She let out a slow breath, relaxing against him.  "There's no law, because traditionally familiars are animals, and we are morally and magically obligated to do right by them.  A regular cat, even one elevated by a familiar contract, is still a cat, and can't consent to anything like this."

"True.  And as someone who spends time as an actual cat, it'd be pretty twisted."  He pushed himself up on one elbow so he could rub his jaw against hers.  It was rare for him to scent mark her in human form.  Coming on the heels of her confession, it felt reassuring.  Sighing softly, he settled beside her again.

"We're bound together forever," she said quietly, though she wanted to just forget this whole thing.

"Yeah."  He shared his happiness through their link.

"I don't want us to hate each other, or get uncomfortable around each other," she explained, desperate for him to understand fully.  "Our familiar relationship is more important than exploring some fickle infatuation."

"True," he agreed easily.  "But this isn't just infatuation."

She turned to him in confusion.  "What do you mean."

"Love at first sight isn't real," he said.  Something in his tone suggested this was going to be one of his long-winded existential expositions.  He had surprised her with his focus and depth in the past.  Clearly his philosophical and critical thinking education had not been slighted.  "Like and interest can be piqued.  Even fascination," he said.  "But you can't love someone you don't know.  You can just love the  **idea** of who you  **think** they are."  

He let go of her fingers to slide his hand under hers.  "I liked you the first time I saw you, even though I stayed hidden.  Your kindness drew me to you until I'd seen enough to know that being with you would be infinitely better than being on my own."

Six months had done little to improve her dismay over the way he'd grown up, his isolation, and his time on the streets of Paris.  She rolled just enough to be able to reach over and rest her hand on his shoulder.

"Even when you thought I was just a cat, you showed me more respect than anyone I'd ever met."  His face retreated from her neck so he could meet her eyes.  "You made me feel loved."

"You  **are** loved," she insisted.  "Mama, Papa, Nino, Alya, and I all love you."

He nodded.  "But there are at least three different kinds of love right there.  Mama and Papa love me like they love you, as a son.  Nino and Alya also love me like they love you, as a friend.  And I return all those feelings in kind."  He took a slow breath.  "What I feel for you is very different.  You're not my sister or even a very close friend.  And it's not just the familiar binding that makes me feel like I belong with you, that I've found my home with you."

That was enough to make heat rush into her cheeks.

"I know people would say I'm too young to feel this, and I know I don't have a lot of experience in this, but, I love you."  His face was serious and his eyes flicked around nervously.  "And like you said, I don't need you to react in a specific way.  But I feel like you should know."

She rolled closer toward him, moving her hand from his shoulder to his back as she hugged him. Her face pressed to his chest.  "Have you talked to your counselor about any of this?"

She felt him move his head.  "Yeah.  She thought I should talk to you about it.  See what you were comfortable with."  His fingers gently tugged out her ponytail  so they could run into her hair, caressing her scalp as they went.  "She's doing some research on ancient arcane history, because she's heard stories that suggest what we have isn't new.  That it used to be common for witches and shapeshifters to partner up like this.  It's apparently part of why black cats have some form of magic."

"Oh."  It made a lot of sense, actually.  But that would have been hundreds of years ago, before even witches bought into the irrational fear of shapeshifters.  "Maybe we should see her together next session," she suggested.  "We can both just kind of… process this.  Try to understand what we feel.  And see if she has some suggestions to help us not mess this up."

"Yeah," he agreed.  "But for right now, I just want to hold you."

She nodded, then shifted to nuzzle his neck the way he always did hers.  "That'd be perfect."

"I think you mean, purrrfect," he corrected, giggling a little.

"Yeah."  She rested her ear where she could hear his heart.  That."

**Author's Note:**

> I'm also over on tumblr, so feel free to stop by and visit if you'd like. My content is multi-fandom, with a lot of ML. http://freedom-shamrock.tumblr.com


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